Methods, systems, and media for ranking content items using topics

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and media for ranking content items using topics are provided. In some embodiments, a method for ranking video content is provided, comprising: receiving a search query; generating a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determining one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results; determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality of criterion that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types and (ii) determining whether entities shared between the plurality of search results include the one or more determined entity types; and in response to determining that the plurality of criterion have been met, promoting at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/702,689, filed Sep. 18, 2012, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Methods, systems, and media for ranking content items using topics areprovided. More particularly, the disclosed subject matter can includeusing topics to promote a particular class of content items, such asmovie content items.

BACKGROUND

Content providers generally attempt to present content that is ofinterest to its users. Some content providers promote a particular classof content items to its users. For example, content providers candisplay or promote a particular class of content items in response toreceiving a particular search query.

For example, in response to receiving a search query for a movie anddetermining that the highest ranked movie result in the search resultsis the movie that the query seeks, a content provider can classify themovie as an authoritative result for the search query. Such videocontent items that are deemed authoritative results are typically placedat the top position of the search results displayed in response to thesearch query. However, there are many instances in which irrelevant ormisleading video content items are promoted to the top position of thesearch results displayed in response to the search query. For example, aknockoff or imitation movie having a name that matches the search querycan be triggered and placed at the top position of the search results.In another example, an irrelevant movie having a name that matches atleast a portion of search query can also be triggered and placed at thetop position of the search results.

SUMMARY

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, amethod for ranking content is provided, the method comprising:receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating aplurality of search results in response to the search query; determiningone or more entity types associated with a content class within theplurality of search results; determining whether the search query is aquery for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality ofcriterion that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of theplurality of search results is associated with the one or moredetermined entity types and (ii) determining whether entities sharedbetween the plurality of search results include the one or moredetermined entity types; and in response to determining that theplurality of criterion have been met, promoting at least one searchresult of the plurality of search results belonging to the contentclass.

In some embodiments, the plurality of search results correspond to atleast one of: a video content item, an audio content item, a moviecontent item, a channel, a playlist, a television show, a topic, adocument, a live performance, and a class lecture.

In some embodiments, at least one search result from the plurality ofsearch results is associated with a plurality of entities, and each ofthe plurality of entities is associated with one of a plurality ofentity types.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining whether atleast one of the plurality of search results is associated with the oneor more entity types by accessing a histogram of entities associatedwith the plurality of search results.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining whetherthe entities shared between the plurality of search results include theone or more entity types by: comparing entity types corresponding to theentities associated with each of the plurality of search results toproduce a set of entity types common to the plurality of search results;and determining whether the one or more entity types are included in theset of entity types common to the plurality of search results.

In some embodiments, the plurality of criterion includes determiningwhether the plurality of search results includes one or moreauthoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity typecorresponding to the one or more entity types. In some embodiments, themethod further comprises promoting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates belonging to the content class within a list of at least aportion of the plurality of search results in response to determiningthat the plurality of criterion have been met.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises, in response todetermining that the plurality of criterion have not been met,performing at least one of: inhibiting the one or more authoritativeresult candidates from being included in the list of the plurality ofsearch results; inhibiting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates from being promoted within the list of the plurality ofsearch results; and demoting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates within a list of at least a portion of the plurality ofsearch results.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises, in response todetermining that the plurality of criterion have not been met,performing at least one of: inhibiting the at least one search result ofthe plurality of search results belonging to the content class frombeing included in the list of the plurality of search results;inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of searchresults belonging to the content class from being promoted within thelist of the plurality of search results; and demoting the at least onesearch result of the plurality of search results within a list of atleast a portion of the plurality of search results.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, amethod for ranking video content is provided, the method comprising:receiving a search query for a video content item; generating aplurality of search results in response to the search query, wherein theplurality of search results include a plurality of video content itemsand one or more movie content items; determining whether the searchquery is a movie query based on one or more criterion, wherein the oneor more criterion include (i) determining whether at least one of theplurality of video content items is associated with one or more movieentity types; (ii) determining whether entities shared between theplurality of video content items have entity types that include the oneor more movie entity types; and (iii) determining whether the moviecontent item has an entity of one or more movie entity types; and, inresponse to determining that a plurality of the one or more criterionhave not been met, inhibiting the one or more movie content items frombeing promoted in a list of the plurality of search results.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, asystem for ranking content is provided. The system comprises a hardwareprocessor that: receives a search query; generates a plurality of searchresults in response to the search query; determines one or more entitytypes associated with a content class within the plurality of searchresults; determines whether the search query is a query for contentbelonging to the content class based on a plurality of criterion thatincludes: (i) determining whether at least one of the plurality ofsearch results is associated with the one or more determined entitytypes and (ii) determining whether entities shared between the pluralityof search results include the one or more determined entity types; andin response to determining that the plurality of criterion have beenmet, promotes at least one search result of the plurality of searchresults belonging to the content class.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, asystem for ranking video content is provided, the system comprising ahardware processor that: receives a search query for a video contentitem; generates a plurality of search results in response to the searchquery, wherein the plurality of search results include a plurality ofvideo content items and one or more movie content items; determineswhether the search query is a movie query based on one or morecriterion, wherein the one or more criterion include (i) determiningwhether at least one of the plurality of video content items isassociated with one or more movie entity types; (ii) determining whetherentities shared between the plurality of video content items have entitytypes that include the one or more movie entity types; and (iii)determining whether the movie content item has an entity of one or moremovie entity types; and, in response to determining that a plurality ofthe one or more criterion have not been met, inhibits the one or moremovie content items from being promoted in a list of the plurality ofsearch results.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, anon-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the process toperform a method for ranking content, is provided. The method comprises:receiving a search query; generating a plurality of search results inresponse to the search query; determining one or more entity typesassociated with a content class within the plurality of search results;determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging tothe content class based on a plurality of criterion that includes: (i)determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results isassociated with the one or more determined entity types and (ii)determining whether entities shared between the plurality of searchresults include the one or more determined entity types; and in responseto determining that the plurality of criterion have been met, promotingat least one search result of the plurality of search results belongingto the content class.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, anon-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the process toperform a method for ranking video content, is provided. The methodcomprises: receiving a search query for a video content item; generatinga plurality of search results in response to the search query, whereinthe plurality of search results include a plurality of video contentitems and one or more movie content items; determining whether thesearch query is a movie query based on one or more criterion, whereinthe one or more criterion include (i) determining whether at least oneof the plurality of video content items is associated with one or moremovie entity types; (ii) determining whether entities shared between theplurality of video content items have entity types that include the oneor more movie entity types; and (iii) determining whether the moviecontent item has an entity of one or more movie entity types; and, inresponse to determining that a plurality of the one or more criterionhave not been met, inhibiting the one or more movie content items frombeing promoted in a list of the plurality of search results.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, asystem for ranking content is provided, the system comprising: means forreceiving a search query; means for generating a plurality of searchresults in response to the search query; means for determining one ormore entity types associated with a content class within the pluralityof search results; means for determining whether the search query is aquery for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality ofcriterion that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of theplurality of search results is associated with the one or moredetermined entity types and (ii) determining whether entities sharedbetween the plurality of search results include the one or moredetermined entity types; and in response to determining that theplurality of criterion have been met, means for promoting at least onesearch result of the plurality of search results belonging to thecontent class.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises means for determiningwhether at least one of the plurality of search results is associatedwith the one or more entity types by accessing a histogram of entitiesassociated with the plurality of search results.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises: means for comparingentity types corresponding to the entities associated with each of theplurality of search results to produce a set of entity types common tothe plurality of search results; and means for determining whether theone or more entity types are included in the set of entity types commonto the plurality of search results.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises means for determiningwhether the plurality of search results includes one or moreauthoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity typecorresponding to the one or more entity types. In some embodiments, themethod further comprises means for promoting the one or moreauthoritative result candidates belonging to the content class within alist of at least a portion of the plurality of search results inresponse to determining that the plurality of criterion have been met.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises, in response todetermining that the plurality of criterion have not been met, means forperforming at least one of: inhibiting the one or more authoritativeresult candidates from being included in the list of the plurality ofsearch results; inhibiting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates from being promoted within the list of the plurality ofsearch results; and demoting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates within a list of at least a portion of the plurality ofsearch results.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises, in response todetermining that the plurality of criterion have not been met, means forperforming at least one of: inhibiting the at least one search result ofthe plurality of search results belonging to the content class frombeing included in the list of the plurality of search results;inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of searchresults belonging to the content class from being promoted within thelist of the plurality of search results; and demoting the at least onesearch result of the plurality of search results within a list of atleast a portion of the plurality of search results.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, asystem for ranking video content is provided, the system comprising:means for receiving a search query for a video content item; means forgenerating a plurality of search results in response to the searchquery, wherein the plurality of search results include a plurality ofvideo content items and one or more movie content items; means fordetermining whether the search query is a movie query based on one ormore criterion, wherein the one or more criterion include (i)determining whether at least one of the plurality of video content itemsis associated with one or more movie entity types; (ii) determiningwhether entities shared between the plurality of video content itemshave entity types that include the one or more movie entity types; and(iii) determining whether the movie content item has an entity of one ormore movie entity types; and means for inhibiting the one or more moviecontent items from being promoted in a list of the plurality of searchresults in response to determining that a plurality of the one or morecriterion have not been met.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, amethod for ranking content is provided, the method comprising:receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating aplurality of search results in response to the search query; determiningone or more entity types associated with a content class within theplurality of search results; determining whether the search query is aquery for content belonging to the content class by determining whetherat least one of the plurality of search results is associated with theone or more determined entity types; and in response to determining thatat least one of the plurality of search results is associated with theone or more determined entity types, promoting the at least one searchresult of the plurality of search results belonging to the contentclass.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, amethod for ranking content is provided, the method comprising:receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating aplurality of search results in response to the search query: determiningone or more entity types associated with a content class within theplurality of search results; determining whether the search query is aquery for content belonging to the content class by determining whetherentities shared between the plurality of search results include the oneor more determined entity types; and in response to determining that theentities shared between the plurality of search results include the oneor more determined entity types, promoting at least one search result ofthe plurality of search results belonging to the content class.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and advantages of the present invention canbe more fully appreciated with reference to the following detaileddescription of the invention when considered in connection with thefollowing drawing, in which like reference numerals identify likeelements.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an illustrative process for ranking contentitems based on entities in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an illustrative process for ranking videocontent items, such as movies, based on entities in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative screen of a list of search results displayedin response to a search query, where a movie content item has beenpromoted to the top of the list of search results, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative system on which the contentranking mechanisms can be implemented in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an illustrative computing device and server asprovided, for example, in FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking, the disclosed subject matter relates to rankingcontent items using topics.

In some embodiments, mechanisms are provided for ranking content itemsbased on topics associated with the content items. For example, themechanisms can access one or more video databases, where each videocontent item stored in the database may have metadata, attributes, orentities associated with it. These are sometimes referred to herein asentities. Entities associated with a content item can include anysuitable topics or entities associated with a content item, such as atopic, an artist, significant concepts in a video content item, movieinformation in a video content item, a user-assigned tag, a Freebaseentity, a characteristic, a feature, etc. Such entities can be generatedand assigned to a video content item using an automatic classificationprocess. It should be noted that some video content items, such as auser-generated content item, may not have associated topics or othersuitable entities, while other video content items, such as moviecontent items, may have associated topics or other suitable entities. Itshould also be noted that content items, such as user-generated contentitems, can be transmitted to a suitable classifier such that one or moreentities can be assigned.

Each entity can have one or more entity types that indicate the kind ofentity or topic that the entity represents. For example, movie entitiesrepresenting movies, such as the movie having the title “Cars” or themovie having the title “Finding Nemo,” can include entities of theentity type MOVIE or the entity type FILM_MOVIE. It should be noted thateach entity can have multiple entity types (e.g., Alfred Hitchcock canhave a FILM_ACTOR entity type, a FILM_DIRECTOR entity type, and aMUSIC_ARTIST entity type). It should also be noted that a content itemcan have multiple associated entities.

In some embodiments, these mechanisms can analyze the one or more entitytypes associated with a video content item to rank video content items.More particularly, in response to receiving a search query, themechanisms can analyze the one or more entity types associated with themultiple video content items in the search results to determine thelikely intent of the search query. Based on the determined intent of thesearch query, the mechanisms can promote or present and/or inhibit thepromotion or presentation of a particular class of content item, such asmovie content items. For example, based on the determined intent of thesearch query, one or more movie content items can be promoted. Inanother example, based on the determined intent of the search query, oneor more search results (e.g., not necessarily authoritative resultcandidates) can be demoted in the list of search results. In yet anotherexample, based on the determined intent of the search query, one or moreauthoritative result candidates can be promoted concurrently based onentity information, entity type information, and/or entity scores.

It should be noted that, although the embodiments described hereingenerally relate to the promotion or presentation (or inhibiting thepromotion or presentation) of one or more video content items, one ormore movie content items, one or more movie results, or one or moreauthoritative result candidates, this is merely illustrative. Themechanisms described herein can be applied to any suitable class ofcontent item. For example, the mechanisms can be used to analyze the oneor more entity types associated with the content in multiple searchresults to determine the likely intent of the search query and, inresponse, promote or present (or inhibit the promotion or presentationof) one or more content items within a particular class (e.g., a premiumtelevision content item, a class lecture, a live performance of anartist, etc.). In another example, the mechanisms can, in response todetermining a particular intent of the search query using entities ortopics, promote or present (or inhibit the promotion or presentation of)multiple classes of content items (e.g., premium television contentitems and over-the-top content items). In yet another example, themechanisms can, in response to receiving one or more authoritativeresult candidates in the search results, determine a content classassociated with the one or more authoritative result candidates,determine one or more entity types associated with the content class,and/or analyze the one or more entity types associated with the multiplesearch results to determine whether to promote or present (or inhibitthe promotion or presentation of) the one or more authoritative resultcandidates.

These mechanisms can be used in a variety of applications. For example,these mechanisms can be used in video search engines to rank videocontent items based on the likely intent of the search query. In a moreparticular example, these mechanisms can be implemented on a contenthosting service, where the video search engine can promote or present(or inhibit the promotion or presentation of) one or more movie contentitems in response to a search query for content items provided by thecontent hosting service. In another example, these mechanisms can beused in other suitable search engines to promote or present (or inhibitthe promotion or presentation) of one or more movie content items. Inyet another example, these mechanisms can be used to promote or present(or inhibit the promotion of presentation of) any suitable class ofcontent items.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an illustrative process 100 for analyzingentity types and other content information in response to a search queryin accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

Process 100 can begin by receiving a search query for a content item at110. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the search query can be a queryfor a particular video content item, such as a movie. In a moreparticular example, as shown in FIG. 3, a content hosting service cancause a video search engine page 300 to be displayed on a user device,where the video search engine page 300 includes a search interface 310for inputting search terms. In particular, FIG. 3 shows that the userhas inputted the search terms “cars cars” into search interface 310.

In response to receiving the search query, process 100 can obtain searchresults and content information associated with the obtained searchresults at 120. The search results can correspond to any suitablecontent, such as music content (e.g., live performances), audio content(e.g., class lectures), video content (e.g., movies, video clips, etc.),images, print content, articles, blogs, etc. In particular, referringback to FIGS. 2 and 3, the obtained search results can include searchresults for multiple video content items and, in some cases, one or moresearch results for movie content items. The movie content item can be,for example, a full length movie content item. Additionally oralternatively, the obtained search results can also include one or morechannels, one or more playlists, one or more topics, etc. It should benoted that the obtained search results can include the top fifty searchresults, the top hundred search results, all of the search resultsresponsive to the search query, or any other suitable number of searchresults. It should also be noted that some of the video content items inthe search results, such as a user-generated video content item, may nothave associated topics or other suitable entities, while other videocontent items, such as movie content items or authoritative contentitems, may have associated topics or other suitable entities.

In some embodiments, in response to determining that a content itemwithin the search results does not have associated topics or entities,the content item (or any suitable component of the content item) can betransmitted to a classifier (e.g., an automatic content classifier) thatanalyzes the content of the content item and assigns one or moreentities having particular entity types to the content item.Additionally or alternatively, an indicator corresponding to thatcontent item can be transmitted to a classifier or any other suitablecomponent to indicate that the particular content item requiresclassification to associate particular entities.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, one or more entity typesthat correspond to the particular content class can be determined at130. For example, upon determining that a particular class of contentitems—e.g., movie content items—should be promoted, but the particularclass of content items may be challenging to rank within the contentitems, a corresponding entity type, such as the MOVIE entity type, canbe determined for content items in the particular class. In anotherexample, multiple entity types can be selected that correspond to theparticular content class—e.g., a MOVIE entity type for a movie, aMOVIE_ACTOR entity type for an actor in a movie, and a MOVIE_DIRECTORentity type for a director of a movie. Each of these entity types canindicate that the content item having entities of one or more of theseentity types is a movie content item.

In determining whether to promote the one of the search results (e.g.,one or more authoritative result candidates) corresponding to a contentitem (e.g., a full length movie content item, an authoritative movieitem, etc.) within the search results, an analysis of the search queryand the obtained search results can be performed at 140. This analysiscan, for example, determine whether the received search query is a queryfor a movie or any other suitable class of content item (e.g., a classlecture, a live performance of an artist, etc.). That is, this analysiscan determine the likely intent of the received search query—e.g.,whether the user that inputted the search query is searching for a movieand whether one or more movie content items in the search results is asuitable match for the search query.

The analysis performed at 140 can include checking for one or morecriterion. It should be noted that any suitable criterion usingentities, topics, or any other suitable attribute can be used to analyzethe search query and the search results responsive to the search query.In a more particular embodiment, an intent score can be generated basedon the one or more criterion and, in response to the intent scoreexceeding an intent threshold, a particular action associated with anauthoritative result candidate or any other search result can beperformed (e.g., promoting the one or more authoritative resultcandidates within the list of search results).

In some embodiments, one criterion can include determining whether asearch result of the search results is associated with the one or moreentity types at 150. For example, as shown at 240 in FIG. 2, a videocontent server can determine whether a video content item within thesearch results includes an entity that is associated with one or moremovie entity types, such as a FILM_MOVIE entity type, a MOVIE entitytype, a MOVIE_ACTOR entity type, a MOVIE_DIRECTOR entity type, etc. Inanother example, a video content server can determine whether a contentitem within the search results includes an entity having a particularentity type associated with the class of an authoritative resultcandidate. In yet another example, a video content server can receivemultiple entity types that are associated with a content class forpromoting or presenting within the search results and, upon accessing anentity histogram associated with one or more search results, the videocontent server can determine whether a content item includes an entityhaving one of the multiple entity types.

In some embodiments, the video content server can determine whether avideo content item within a particular number of search results (e.g.,the top N search results for the received search query) is associatedwith one or more entity types. For example, the video content server cancompile a list of entity types that appear within a particular number ofsearch results and can determine whether the one or more entity types(e.g., a MOVIE entity type, a MOVIE_DIRECTOR entity type, etc.) areincluded in the compiled list. Additionally, in some embodiments, thevideo content server can provide a user with an opportunity to set thenumber of search results for determining the likely intent of the searchquery prior to promoting a particular class of content item. Forexample, a user can indicate to the video content server that thedetermination is based on the entities, entity types, and otherinformation associated with the top ten video search results.

It should be noted that, upon determining that a video content itemwithin the obtained search results (or N number of search results) isnot associated with an entity having one or more movie entity types(e.g., an entity type of the MOVIE entity type or the MOVIE_ACTOR entitytype), such a determination can indicate to the video content serverthat the search query may not intend to search for a movie.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, another criterion caninclude determining, from the entities shared between the content itemsreturned as search results, whether the shared entities have anassociated entity type included in the one or more determined entitytypes (e.g., a MOVIE entity type, a MOVIE_ACTOR entity type, etc.) at160. For example, a video content server can determine which entities orattributes are shared among the multiple video content items, determinea subset of the shared entities or attributes (e.g., top ten, topthirty, etc.), and determine whether the subset of shared entitiesincludes an entity having an entity type of the movie entity type. In amore particular example, as shown in FIG. 2, a video content server candetermine whether one or more movie entity type, such as a FILM_MOVIEentity type and/or a MOVIE entity type, is present among the top Mshared entities of the obtained search results at 250. In anotherexample, a video content server can determine whether one of theentities shared between the search results has a particular entity typeassociated with the class of an authoritative result candidate.

It should be noted that, upon determining that an entity or attributeshared among the multiple video content items (or M number of commonentities) does not have an entity type included in the one or more movieentity types (e.g., an entity type of the FILM_MOVIE entity type or ofthe FILM_DIRECTOR entity type), such a determination can indicate to thevideo content server that the search query may not intend to search fora movie.

Additionally or alternatively to reviewing common entities sharedbetween the search results, metadata including entity types associatedwith each of the search results can be compared to product a set ofentity types common to the search results and the content itemscorresponding to the search results. In some embodiments, a particularnumber of entity types within the set of entity types common to thesearch results can be selected (e.g., M number of common entity types).The video content server can then determine whether the one or moreentity types corresponding to the content class (e.g., movies) areincluded in the subset of entity types common to the search results.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, yet another criterion caninclude determining whether the search results include one or moreauthoritative result candidates and whether one of the entitiesassociated with each of the authoritative result candidates (e.g., afull length movie, an authoritative movie, etc.) has an entity type ofthe one or more determined entity types at 170. For example, as shown at260 in FIG. 2, a video content server can determine whether the searchresults include one or more movie content items and whether each moviecontent item includes one or more movie entity types (e.g., an entityhaving the FILM_MOVIE entity type and/or the FILM_DIRECTOR entity type).In another example, a video content server can determine whether one ormore movie content items include an entity having a particular entitytype associated with the class of a movie content item (e.g., the one ormore determined entity types from 130 of FIG. 1).

It should be noted that, upon determining that the one or more moviecontent items or any other suitable content item that is considered forpromotion do not have an associated entity that has an entity type ofthe one or more movie entity types (or any other determined entitytypes), such a determination can indicate to the video content serverthat the one or more movie content items are not movies that users mayconduct a search. As such, the one or more movie content items may notbe considered for presentation and/or promotion in response to theparticular search query.

Additionally or alternatively to accessing entities and entity typesassociated with one or more video content items, the video contentserver can access an entity histogram associated with multiple videocontent items. For example, in order to determine whether one or morevideo content items within the obtained search results include aparticular entity type (e.g., a FILM_MOVIE entity type, a MOVIE entitytype, etc.), the video content server can access a histogramdistribution of entity types. In another example, in order to determinewhether a particular entity type (e.g., a FILM_MOVIE entity type, aMOVIE entity type, etc.) is among the top shared entity types, the videocontent server can access a histogram distribution of entity typesacross the search results. In such an example, an entity histogram canbe generated for the different entity types that are common, oruncommon, for the particular search query or the particular set ofsearch results. The entity histogram can indicate, for example, whetherthe entity type FILM_MOVIE or the entity type MOVIE is common and/orpopular among the entity and/or entity types associated with the videocontent items.

It should be noted that, although the embodiments described abovegenerally relate to determining whether to promote one or more movieresults within search results based on various criterion (e.g., whethera FILM_MOVIE entity type is present), this determination can beperformed to determine whether to promote any other suitable class ofcontent item (e.g., a class lecture, a live performance of an artist,etc.). For example, in some embodiments, the video content server candetermine the class associated with the authoritative item that is beingconsidered for promotion within the search results and can determine aparticular entity type corresponding to the determined class (e.g., aFILM_MOVIE entity type for movie content items). In an example for classlectures, the criterion can include determining whether a content itemin the search results is associated with the particular entity typeassociated with class lectures and/or determining whether the commonlyshared entities between the content items in the search results includesthe particular entity type associated with class lectures. In someembodiments, the video content server can provide a user, such as acontent owner, with an opportunity to indicate which particular entitytypes to verity within search results prior to promoting a particularcontent item or a particular class of content items within the searchresults.

It should also be noted that, although the embodiments described abovegenerally relate to determining whether to promote search results basedon entity type, any suitable information, such as entity information,can also be used. For example, one criterion in the intent analysis caninclude determining whether the entities shared between multiple contentitems are included in a set of entities associated with content that theuser is searching for. In this example, a set of entities (where eachentity can be associated with multiple entity types) can be generatedfrom the received query and, in turn, it can be determined whether atleast a portion of the multiple entities associated with a particularsearch result are included in the set of entities generated from thereceived query.

At 180, in response to determining that the analysis has met one or moreof the criterion (e.g., criterion 150, criterion 160, and/or criterion170), the content server can promote the one or more authoritativeresult candidates that are each associated with a content item in thelist of obtained search results (e.g., promote the result to the top ofthe list) and/or present the updated list of search results to the userat 190. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the video content server canpromote one or more movie search results that are each associated with amovie content item within the list of search results at 280 (e.g., animproved position in the listing). More particularly, as shown in FIG.3, in response to determining that the received search query of“carscars” in search interface 310 has the likely intent to obtain a movieresult and that a movie content item 330 for the movie “Cars” is asuitable match for the received search query, the video content servercan promote the movie result 330 corresponding to the movie content itemwithin the list of search results 320.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, in response todetermining that the analysis has met one or more criterion (e.g.,criterion 150, criterion 160, and/or criterion 170), the content servercan determine whether to perform an action on one or more search results(whether the search result is deemed an authoritative result candidateor a non-authoritative result candidate) based on their associatedentity information and/or entity type information. For example, based onassociated entity information (e.g., a number of shared entities) andassociated entity type information (e.g., a number of shared entitytypes, a number of the same or similar entity types, etc.), the contentserver can determine that one or more search results are to be promoted,demoted, and/or inhibited from being presented or included within a listof search results. In another example, in response to determining that asearch query intends to search for content items in a particular contentclass, one or more search results that belong to the particular contentclass or an associated content class can be promoted. Alternatively, inresponse to determining that particular search results do not belong tothe particular content class or an associated content class, thoseparticular search results can be demoted and/or inhibited from beingpresented or included in a list of search results.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, multiple authoritativeresult candidates can be promoted concurrently. For example, upondetermining that the search results include multiple authoritativeresult candidates, it can be determined whether each authoritativeresult candidate is associated with an entity having an entity type thatcorresponds to one or more determined entity types. In a more particularexample, each authoritative result candidate can be associated withmultiple entities, each of the entities can be associated with multipleentity types, and it can be determined if any of these multiple entitytypes associated with an authoritative result candidate is the same orsimilar to the one or more determined entity types (e.g., determinedfrom the search query, determined from user input, specified by theuser, etc.). In response to the multiple authoritative result candidatesmeeting this criterion, an entity score can be assigned to each of theauthoritative result candidates based on other criterion relating toentities and/or entity types. For example, an entity score can indicatethe number of entity types associated with a result that are in commonwith the one or more determined entity types. In another example, anentity score can indicate the percentage of similarity between theentity types associated with a result and the one or more determinedentity types. In some embodiments, the entity score can be combined withother scores, such as relevancy scores provided by a search engine. Inresponse, authoritative result candidates can be ranked by entity scoreand promoted accordingly. For example, when there are multipleauthoritative result candidates, the authoritative result candidates canbe ranked by entity score, where an authoritative result candidatehaving a high entity score can be positioned higher in a list of searchresults than an authoritative result candidate having a lower entityscore. This can, for example, allow multiple authoritative resultcandidates to be promoted within the list, demoted within the list,and/or inhibited from being promoted or presented at or near the sametime.

Similarly, multiple search results (whether deemed as an authoritativeresult or a non-authoritative result) can be promoted concurrently. Forexample, it can be determined whether each search result is associatedwith an entity having an entity type that corresponds to one or moredetermined entity types. In another example, it can be determinedwhether one or more search results that belong to a particular contentclass and it can also be determined for those search results whether aparticular criterion has been met (e.g., whether at least one of thesearch results belonging to the content class is associated with the oneor more determined entity types, whether entities shared between thesesearch results have one or more entity types included in the one or moredetermined entity types). In response to satisfying one or more of thesecriterion, multiple search results can be promoted, demoted, and/orinhibited from being presented or included within a list of searchresults.

It should also be noted that, although the illustrative example shown inFIG. 3 promotes a particular movie content item to the top of the listof search results, this is merely illustrative. The particular contentitem can be promoted and/or presented in any suitable manner. Forexample, a particular content item can be promoted to a particularposition within a list of search results. In another example, aparticular content item can be presented in a designated area outside ofthe list of search results.

Alternatively, in response to determining that the analysis has not meta particular number of criteria (e.g., one of criterion 150, 160, and170, two of criterion 150, 160, and 170, etc.), the content server caninhibit the promotion and/or presentation of one or more content itemwithin the list of search results at 195. That is, unless the analysisdetermines that a particular number of criteria has been met (e.g., atleast two of criterion 150, 160, and 170), the content server caninhibit the content item from triggering. For example, as shown in FIG.2, in response to determining that the received search query does nothave the intent of obtaining a movie result, the video content servercan inhibit the promotion or presentation of one or more movie resultsthat each correspond to a movie content item (e.g., movie result 330 ofFIG. 3) in the list of search results at 290. In another example, inresponse to determining that the received search query does not have theintent of obtaining a movie result, the video content server can inhibitthe one or more movie results that each correspond to a movie contentitem from being displayed within the list of search results.

It should be understood that the above steps of the flow diagram ofFIGS. 1 and 2 can be executed or performed in any order or sequence notlimited to the order and sequence shown and described in the figure.Also, some of the above steps of the flow diagrams of FIGS. 1 and 2 canbe executed or performed substantially simultaneously where appropriateor in parallel to reduce latency and processing times.

It should be noted that, although the embodiments described hereingenerally relate to promoting or presenting (or inhibiting the promotionor presentation of) an authoritative result candidate, the contentserver can determine whether any suitable search result can be promotedor presented. For example, in response to determining multiple entitiesor entity types (e.g., derived from a search query, associated with aparticular class of content, provided by a user of a content hostingservice, etc.), the multiple entities or multiple entity typesassociated with each search result responsive to a search query can becompared with the determined multiple entities or entity types and asuitable entity score can be generated for each search result. Searchresults can then be promoted, demoted, and/or inhibited from beingpromoted or presented based on an entity score (e.g., the number ofcorresponding entity types, the number of shared entities, etc.).

It should also be noted that, although the embodiments described hereingenerally relate to ranking video content items resulting from a videosearch query, this is merely illustrative. In some embodiments, theranking and/or prioritizing approaches described herein can be used topromote a particular class of content items on any suitable searchengine. In other suitable embodiments, the ranking and/or prioritizingapproaches described herein can be used to rank media (e.g., music,artists, videos, movies, television channels, etc.) on any suitablepage.

FIG. 4 is a generalized schematic diagram of a system 400 on which thecontent ranking mechanisms can be implemented in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As illustrated, system 400can include one or more computing devices 402, such as a user computingdevice for accessing and/or searching for content items (e.g., videocontent items), a user computing device for uploading and/or otherwiseproviding content items (e.g., video content items) for consumption byother users, etc. Computing devices 402 can be local to each other orremote from each other. Computing devices 402 are connected by one ormore communications links 404 to a communications network 406 that islinked via a communications link 408 to a server 410.

System 400 can include one or more servers 410. Server 410 can be anysuitable server for providing access to the content ranking and/orprioritizing mechanisms, such as a processor, a computer, a dataprocessing device, or a combination of such devices. For example thecontent ranking and/or prioritizing mechanisms can be distributed intomultiple backend components and multiple frontend components orinterfaces. In a more particular example, backend components, such asdata collection and data distribution can be performed on one or moreservers 410. Similarly, the graphical user interfaces displayed by thecontent server, such as a search interface for accessing content itemsto users, can be distributed by one or more servers 410 to computingdevice 402. For example, server 410 can be operated by a video contentservice that stores video content items (and, in some cases, moviecontent items or authoritative content items) in one or more videodatabases, where the video content service using server 410 displaysgraphical user interfaces to users for searching and/or accessing videocontent items.

More particularly, for example, each of the computing devices 402 andserver 410 can be any of a general purpose device such as a computer ora special purpose device such as a client, a server, etc. Any of thesegeneral or special purpose devices can include any suitable componentssuch as a processor (which can be a microprocessor, digital signalprocessor, a controller, etc.), memory, communication interfaces,display controllers, input devices, etc. For example, computing device402 can be implemented as a personal computer, a tablet computingdevice, a personal data assistant (PDA), a portable email device, amultimedia terminal, a mobile telephone, a gaming device, a set-top box,a television, etc.

In some embodiments, any suitable computer readable media can be usedfor storing instructions for performing the processes described herein.For example, in some embodiments, computer readable media can betransitory or non-transitory. For example, non-transitory computerreadable media can include media such as magnetic media (such as harddisks, floppy disks, etc.), optical media (such as compact discs,digital video discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), semiconductor media (such asflash memory, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), etc.), anysuitable media that is not fleeting or devoid of any semblance ofpermanence during transmission, and/or any suitable tangible media. Asanother example, transitory computer readable media can include signalson networks, in wires, conductors, optical fibers, circuits, anysuitable media that is fleeting and devoid of any semblance ofpermanence during transmission, and/or any suitable intangible media.

Referring back to FIG. 4, communications network 406 may be any suitablecomputer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-areanetwork (“WAN”), a local-area network (“LAN”), a wireless network, adigital subscriber line (“DSL”) network, a frame relay network, anasynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”) network, a virtual private network(“VPN”), or any combination of any of such networks. Communicationslinks 404 and 408 may be any communications links suitable forcommunicating data between computing devices 402 and server 410, such asnetwork links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, anyother suitable communications links, or a combination of such links.Computing devices 402 enable a user to access features of theapplication. Computing devices 402 and server 410 may be located at anysuitable location. In one embodiment, computing devices 402 and server410 may be located within an organization. Alternatively, computingdevices 402 and server 410 may be distributed between multipleorganizations.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the server and one of the computing devicesdepicted in FIG. 4 are illustrated in more detail in FIG. 5. Referringto FIG. 5, computing device 402 may include processor 502, display 504,input device 506, and memory 508, which may be interconnected. In apreferred embodiment, memory 508 contains a storage device for storing acomputer program for controlling processor 502.

Processor 502 uses the computer program to present on display 504 theapplication and the data received through communications link 404 andcommands and values transmitted by a user of computing device 402. Itshould also be noted that data received through communications link 404or any other communications links may be received from any suitablesource. Input device 506 may be a computer keyboard, a mouse, acursor-controller, dial, switchbank, lever, or any other suitable inputdevice as would be used by a designer of input systems or processcontrol systems. Alternatively, input device 506 may be a finger orstylus used on a touch screen display 504.

Server 410 may include processor 520, display 522, input device 524, andmemory 526, which may be interconnected. In a preferred embodiment,memory 526 contains a storage device for storing data received throughcommunications link 408 or through other links, and also receivescommands and values transmitted by one or more users. The storage devicefurther contains a server program for controlling processor 520.

In some embodiments, the application may include an application programinterface (not shown), or alternatively, the application may be residentin the memory of computing device 402 or server 410. In another suitableembodiment, the only distribution to computing device 402 may be agraphical user interface (“GUI”) which allows a user to interact withthe application resident at, for example, server 410.

In one particular embodiment, the application may include client-sidesoftware, hardware, or both. For example, the application may encompassone or more Web-pages or Web-page portions (e.g., via any suitableencoding, such as HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”), Dynamic HyperTextMarkup Language (“DHTML”), Extensible Markup Language (“XML”),JavaServer Pages (“JSP”), Active Server Pages (“ASP”), Cold Fusion, orany other suitable approaches).

Although the application is described herein as being implemented on auser computer and/or server, this is only illustrative. The applicationmay be implemented on any suitable platform (e.g., a personal computer(“PC”), a mainframe computer, a dumb terminal, a data display, a two-waypager, a wireless terminal, a portable telephone, a portable computer, apalmtop computer, an H/PC, an automobile PC, a laptop computer, acellular phone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a combinedcellular phone and PDA, etc.) to provide such features.

Accordingly, methods, systems, and media for ranking content items usingtopics are provided.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in theforegoing illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Featuresof the disclosed embodiments can be combined and rearranged in variousways.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for ranking content, comprising: receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determining one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results, wherein the content class indicates a type of media content of a content item associated with at least one search result of the plurality of search results, and wherein the one or more entity types indicate information associated with the type of media content; determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality of criteria that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types; (ii) determining whether entities shared between the plurality of search results are associated with content corresponding to the one or more determined entity types, wherein each entity includes metadata indicating at least a topic of a corresponding search result; and (iii) determining whether the plurality of search results includes one or more authoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types; and in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met, promoting at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of search results correspond to at least one of: a video content item, an audio content item, a movie content item, a channel, a playlist, a television show, a topic, a document, a live performance, and a class lecture.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one search result from the plurality of search results is associated with a plurality of entities, and wherein each of the plurality of entities is associated with one of a plurality of entity types.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more entity types by accessing a histogram of entities associated with the plurality of search results.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the entities shared between the plurality of search results are determined to include the one or more entity types by: comparing entity types corresponding to the entities associated with each of the plurality of search results to produce a set of entity types common to the plurality of search results; and determining whether the one or more entity types are included in the set of entity types common to the plurality of search results.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising promoting the one or more authoritative result candidates belonging to the content class within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the one or more authoritative result candidates within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 9. A system for ranking content, comprising: a hardware processor that: receives a search query; generates a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determines one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results, wherein the content class indicates a type of media content of a content item associated with at least one search result of the plurality of search results, and wherein the one or more entity types indicate information associated with the type of media content; determines whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality of criteria that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types; (ii) determining whether entities shared between the plurality of search results are associated with content corresponding to the one or more determined entity types, wherein each entity includes metadata indicating at least a topic of a corresponding search result; and (iii) determining whether the plurality of search results includes one or more authoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types; and in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met, promotes at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of search results correspond to at least one of: a video content item, an audio content item, a movie content item, a channel, a playlist, a television show, a topic, a document, a live performance, and a class lecture.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one search result from the plurality of search results is associated with a plurality of entities, and wherein each of the plurality of entities is associated with one of a plurality of entity types.
 12. The system of claim 9, further comprising determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more entity types by accessing a histogram of entities associated with the plurality of search results.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the entities shared between the plurality of search results are determined to include the one or more entity types by: comparing entity types corresponding to the entities associated with each of the plurality of search results to produce a set of entity types common to the plurality of search results; and determining whether the one or more entity types are included in the set of entity types common to the plurality of search results.
 14. The system of claim 9, further comprising promoting the one or more authoritative result candidates belonging to the content class within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met.
 15. The system of claim 9, further comprising, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the one or more authoritative result candidates within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 16. The system of claim 9, further comprising, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for ranking content, the method comprising: receiving a search query; generating a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determining one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results, wherein the content class indicates a type of media content of a content item associated with at least one search result of the plurality of search results, and wherein the one or more entity types indicate information associated with the type of media content; determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class based on a plurality of criteria that includes: (i) determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types; (ii) determining whether entities shared between the plurality of search results are associated with content corresponding to the one or more determined entity types, wherein each entity includes metadata indicating at least a topic of a corresponding search result; and (iii) determining whether the plurality of search results includes one or more authoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types; and in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met, promoting at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the plurality of search results correspond to at least one of: a video content item, an audio content item, a movie content item, a channel, a playlist, a television show, a topic, a document, a live performance, and a class lecture.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein at least one search result from the plurality of search results is associated with a plurality of entities, and wherein each of the plurality of entities is associated with one of a plurality of entity types.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more entity types by accessing a histogram of entities associated with the plurality of search results.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the entities shared between the plurality of search results are determined to include the one or more entity types by: comparing entity types corresponding to the entities associated with each of the plurality of search results to produce a set of entity types common to the plurality of search results; and determining whether the one or more entity types are included in the set of entity types common to the plurality of search results.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises promoting the one or more authoritative result candidates belonging to the content class within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have been met.
 23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the one or more authoritative result candidates from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the one or more authoritative result candidates within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises, in response to determining that the plurality of criteria have not been met, performing at least one of: inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being included in the list of the plurality of search results; inhibiting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class from being promoted within the list of the plurality of search results; and demoting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results within a list of at least a portion of the plurality of search results.
 25. A method for ranking content, comprising: receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determining one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results, wherein the content class indicates a type of media content of a content item associated with at least one search result of the plurality of search results, and wherein the one or more entity types indicate information associated with the type of media content; determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class by determining whether at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types and determining whether the plurality of search results includes one or more authoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types; and in response to determining that at least one of the plurality of search results is associated with the one or more determined entity types and that the plurality of search results includes the one or more authoritative result candidates having the entity with the entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types, promoting the at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class.
 26. A method for ranking content, comprising: receiving, using a hardware processor, a search query; generating a plurality of search results in response to the search query; determining one or more entity types associated with a content class within the plurality of search results, wherein the content class indicates a type of media content of a content item associated with at least one search result of the plurality of search results, and wherein the one or more entity types indicate information associated with the type of media content; determining whether the search query is a query for content belonging to the content class by determining whether entities shared between the plurality of search results are associated with content corresponding to the one or more determined entity types and determining whether the plurality of search results includes one or more authoritative result candidates having an entity with an entity type corresponding to the one or more entity toes, wherein each entity includes metadata indicating at least a topic of a corresponding search result; and in response to determining that the entities shared between the plurality of search results include the one or more determined entity types and that the plurality of search results includes the one or more authoritative result candidates having the entity with the entity type corresponding to the one or more entity types, promoting at least one search result of the plurality of search results belonging to the content class. 